Greenhouse gas policies ignoring gap in household incomes, study says

Mar 19, 2013

Government policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from consumers need to be fairer for household income levels, says a University of Alberta researcher.

A U of A study published recently online in the journal Environment and Behaviour looks at the different sources of greenhouse gas emissions from consumers, based on their income levels. The wealthiest households in Alberta emit the most greenhouse gases, but too often, income disparity hasn't been factored in to current polices—such as the carbon flat tax that is levied to British Columbia residents.

Such policies tend to be based on data of CO² emitted by the average household—12.2 tonnes in Alberta according to the study, which surveyed 1,203 Albertans. Households in the province with the highest income actually emit 17.9 tonnes per year, while those with the lowest incomes generate 8.2 tonnes per year.

"Income disparity needs to be factored in when developing public policy, to avoid placing a disproportionate financial burden on people who can least afford it and who have contributed the least to the problem of greenhouse gases," said Emily Huddart-Kennedy, lead author and an assistant professor in the U of A Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology.

People should continue to follow environmentally-friendly practices in their daily lives, but they can also have far-reaching environmental impact by buying smaller homes, taking public transit and most importantly, petitioning their government representatives "for environmental policies that are equitable," Huddart-Kennedy added.

Governments can consider providing incentives to build smaller homes, programs to reduce air travel and higher taxes for large or multiple vehicles, she added.

Related Stories

Canada will fail to reach its target for reducing greenhouse gases by 2020, according to a government report which predicted that emissions responsible for global warming will actually increase by seven percent ...

(PhysOrg.com) -- Few elderly homeowners are forced to move from their homes because of property tax increases, according to a new study from a University of Wisconsin-Madison public affairs researcher and economists at the ...

Although policymakers believe the regressiveness of pollution taxes can be offset by returning revenue to the low paid through a reduced labor tax, that approach may not work, and also could have the unintended consequence ...

In a new study, UCLA economists estimate that means-tested mortgage modifications, which significantly reduce mortgage payments to households whose incomes have declined, have raised the unemployment rate by approximately ...

Yosemite National Park is bracing for its driest year on record, with visitor bureaus downplaying the allure of the park's most famous waterfall and instead touting the park as a destination for hiking, bicycling and photography.

A new stream-based monitoring system recently discovered high levels of methane in a Pennsylvania stream near the site of a reported Marcellus shale gas well leak, according to researchers at Penn State and the U.S. Geological ...

A team led by Washington State University researchers has found that methane emissions from local natural gas distribution systems in cities and towns throughout the U.S. have decreased in the past 20 years ...

In the first-of-its-kind study of the environmental effects of hydropeaking, that is releasing water at hydropower dams to meet peak daily electricity demand, two University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers ...